cityfan Posted February 14, 2010 Report Share Posted February 14, 2010 For me, there are far too many complaints on here about strikers. I am not so sure that all the strikers that have come here have failed. More a case of they have failed to be given service to strike! It is imperative as a striker to get service and different strikers need different service. So we have to decide what kind of football we want to play and then purchase our acquisitions to suit that style of play. All this chat about we need a big 'un up front to hold the ball I don't buy. We only need that kind of striker IF we are hoofing the ball up to a stand alone striker that then requires the midfield to move up the field quickly to 'join in' Strikers need to have physical strength to hold off a challenge, but they need instinct, movement, pace and cleverness to execute their craft. Our midfeild does sit deep, but it needs to press forward and shrink the gap between themselves and the strikers. If a ball is played to a striker with his back to goal it is essential that a midfield moves quickly to support that striker to receive the ball again and allow the striker to turn and move. Supply of a long ball needs to go over the back of the defence for the likes of Haynes, Maynard and Sproule to run onto. NOT a 50/50 in the air challenge with defenders and ideally this delivery is angled so defenders are required to turn and move and hopefully at this stage we have too much pace for them. Hartley has been pressing forward endlessely at home and frequently runs the ball down and goes beyond our front line. I would like to see our defence move up as our midfield moves up so the midfield is supported as well. We are meant to be one of, if not, the fittest team in the Championship so this shouldn't be a problem. Football is a team game and we need to play as a team. For me that means linking up well, playing in triangles, supporting the forwards to receive the ball back and then play forward and run beyond. Where we have width players we must use them. When Sproule is on, he should be played in to run at and terrorise defences as much as possible and this is as effective from the start as the end, if not more so because pressure is created immediately We have a good squad. Players should have pride and effort themselves regardless of the manager. Relegation will see their wages and lifestyle drop and there is no guarantee a Championship side will come and get them. Basso has apparently found that out to his cost sadly. Our line up for home games is pretty obvious to me and Ashton Gate can only be a fortress if we attack teams, worry them and score goals. Until we do the first two, we will not achieve the third and the third is what will breed confidence. Not trying 1 & 2 will breed fear with the inevitable result. The Midfield has to be Hartley, Skuse (only to be replaced by Sno), Sproule and it would appear JCR which offers us pace, craft, leadership and movement. Defence needs to support them and move with them up field, our strikers need to create movement and space to capitalise on this. This is the message I think we should be pushing and the midfield need to be told they have the authority to push forward throughout and that Hartley orchestrates this and they should listen to his instruction on the field. The managers role is to maximise/adjust this at half time and through substitutions. Once the whistle goes, it is all down to the players Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BCFC_Dan Posted February 14, 2010 Report Share Posted February 14, 2010 For me the problem stems from the defence and goalkeeper. Our defence is that of a good league one side and has survived the past couple of years on a lot of determined, last ditch, skin-of-the teeth defending. Looking at the goals against column it's looked good but during the games they've never looked secure. Without Basso and McCombe it's lost two players who embodied that determined, never-say-die spirit that was the bedrock of the team's success. Basso's influence has been well documented and McCombe made up for his technical deficiencies with sheer drive and desire. So many times he'd be responsible for a goal conceded but would make up for it by grabbing one up the other end. Fontaine and Nyatanga make mistakes but rarely compensate for them. We're stuck at the moment without a stable platform on which to build. For me the only way out is hard working strikers and a solid, stifling midfield to take some of the pressure off the defence and midfield. I can understand the signing of Iwelumo because he will help out in that respect (though I can't fathom out what Agyemang is for), but if I were Johnson I would be moving Heaven and Earth to bring in an experienced first-ball centre half who will go in hard and boot the ball as far from danger as possible. McCombe was becoming a bit of a liability but we have nobody at the back who has his plus points. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chappers Posted February 14, 2010 Report Share Posted February 14, 2010 Not sure we have the quality to do that. Part of the problem against Cardiff was caused by playing two wingers, and leaving our full-backs exposed. Yesterday, the defending was poor, and I really doubt that the quality added by Sproule and JCR would be enough to compensate for a very shaky defence, especially as our insightful managers has noticed the lack of confidence. I really don't know the answer, no matter how you juggle the players, it is hard to put together a decent side that looks balanced, and capable of both defending and scoring. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cityfan Posted February 14, 2010 Author Report Share Posted February 14, 2010 For me the problem stems from the defence and goalkeeper. Our defence is that of a good league one side and has survived the past couple of years on a lot of determined, last ditch, skin-of-the teeth defending. Looking at the goals against column it's looked good but during the games they've never looked secure. Without Basso and McCombe it's lost two players who embodied that determined, never-say-die spirit that was the bedrock of the team's success. Basso's influence has been well documented and McCombe made up for his technical deficiencies with sheer drive and desire. So many times he'd be responsible for a goal conceded but would make up for it by grabbing one up the other end. Fontaine and Nyatanga make mistakes but rarely compensate for them. We're stuck at the moment without a stable platform on which to build. For me the only way out is hard working strikers and a solid, stifling midfield to take some of the pressure off the defence and midfield. I can understand the signing of Iwelumo because he will help out in that respect (though I can't fathom out what Agyemang is for), but if I were Johnson I would be moving Heaven and Earth to bring in an experienced first-ball centre half who will go in hard and boot the ball as far from danger as possible. McCombe was becoming a bit of a liability but we have nobody at the back who has his plus points. Totally agree about Basso and as regard McCombe, no one on our books commands defence like he does. He does get alot of stick for his distribution, but then so does Orr and this board seems to love him, yet not favour McCombe. Distribution from the full backs is far more important than central defenders so I would be questioning Orr's position at Right Back before I questioned McCombe's. Also, he has just had his contract extended so he is clearly not going anywhere whilst GJ is in charge which, all things considered, is probably a good thing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest DanC Posted February 14, 2010 Report Share Posted February 14, 2010 It's not about the strikers nor the midfield, It's about the bloody tactics and system they are meant to play to. Individual creativity and flair is frowned upon by Sir Gary. If I player does break from the system and wins us a game then Sir Gary will take the credit for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
havanatopia Posted February 14, 2010 Report Share Posted February 14, 2010 It's not about the strikers nor the midfield, It's about the bloody tactics and system they are meant to play to. Individual creativity and flair is frowned upon by Sir Gary. If I player does break from the system and wins us a game then Sir Gary will take the credit for it. I think you are wrong about Gary not liking flair; he brought Carle in, Brought the Showboater from Swansea in and used Noble a lot in the early days. Clearly those facts suggest he wants to see creative football. Now, reasoning why they did not cut it is a totally different argument. I suppose some might go to the extreme and say he brought them in because SL wanted flair. Somehow, i doubt that argument would stand up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cityfan Posted February 14, 2010 Author Report Share Posted February 14, 2010 Well he definitely should have stuck with the flair and built around that in my opinion. We could have do with a bit of that now. I wonder what, if anything, those flair players no longer with us think of our football and league position now. Vindicated? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Casual Connoisseur Posted February 14, 2010 Report Share Posted February 14, 2010 Yep that's it it's the midfield, the midfield bypassed by the defence with wooshball, the tactics and formation are crap. The buck stops with the manager, he compiled the squad, devises the formation and enforces the tactics. The answer is: get another loan striker. I am bored with the constant deliberation with what's wrong, it's all null and void, the footballs boring the results are crap and nothing seems to be changing anytime soon other than maybe our championship status! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheese Posted February 14, 2010 Report Share Posted February 14, 2010 Yep that's it it's the midfield, the midfield bypassed by the defence with wooshball, the tactics and formation are crap. The buck stops with the manager, he compiled the squad, devises the formation and enforces the tactics. The answer is: get another loan striker. I am bored with the constant deliberation with what's wrong, it's all null and void, the footballs boring the results are crap and nothing seems to be changing anytime soon other than maybe our championship status! You still think we might make the play-offs? Personally I can't see us going up this season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chappers Posted February 14, 2010 Report Share Posted February 14, 2010 Cheese, in our parallel universe relegation is becoming a distinct possibility. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheese Posted February 14, 2010 Report Share Posted February 14, 2010 Cheese, in our parallel universe relegation is becoming a distinct possibility. You wanna come into mine then - we're just about to win the Champions League!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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